Karma Scholar
by Christopher Taylor
Summary: A princess, cursed for life with bad luck, meets a man with eternally great luck along his side, and finds that she is beginning to fall for him. However, she is to be married to another man, for the peace of her kingdom. Or, with luck, will it all change
1. Chapter 1

Night is upon the city of Merida, a castle city and capital in the middle of the country Britannia. A vast city, circling around and around with lines of buildings and walls. It climbed some hills and even traveled to a river and small lake on the edge of the city. In the middle of the city was a gigantic castle, famous for surviving an outbreak of war. The city has been prospering for years and years and spread across to make it into the largest city in Britannia. Fifty thousand soldiers guard the city, forty nobles rule the districts, four market districts for people to sell goods, three temple districts for different religions, three recreational and garden districts for social events or just a place to relax, two law districts for court and law making, six barrack districts to keep the soldiers ready, seventy farms to produce foods, a river port and marina by the lake, and several slum districts around the city. Including, of course, the castle district for all the royal court and the royal families most trusted people, including Imperial Guard. The castle was a secure fortress, nothing got in without unique permission, and the princess, but ruling of the king, could not leave the castle for her own protection. She was to be married to a prince from another land as a marker of peace between two countries.

But this was not only the case of why she must be kept inside the castle, for she also had a severe case of bad luck. Though throughout her life, she hasn't manage to even come close to killing herself through whatever means, but her pessimistical curse has lead her to the point of solitary, for it not only seems to affect her, it also affects others. Like a catalyst of despair, bad things have seemed to happen to ever she has met. Her servants end up getting sick, obtain poverty, move away, or even have died for whatever reason. Her father, King Godfreud, believes that the curse can be removed if she manages to find someone to love and love her back all the same, so he has heard directly from an oracle. However, because of the out breaks of war and tensions inside the empire of Britannia, looking for love was the last thing the Britannians needed to think about. And so, the poor princess was kept in the castle for years on end, never seeing the outside world, or even the city if she could. Well educated by many private tutors, many that managed to survive that is, she learned of many things that world had to offer. Though her dream was to simply explore the city, her father would not allow it, no matter how she plead.

But tonight was different, she was determined this time. With the help of her personal servant(personal servant number 74 to be exact, though it's totally irrelevant), she managed to prepare to climb the castle wall with a hook and rope. She obtained both these things through her servant, as she was unable to leave her room most of the time. Her servant prepared her with some money and a small dagger for protection.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Your Highness?" the servant asked.

"Of course! I have to get out of here else I shall go insane! If my father won't let his one and only daughter to see her kingdom then what is she to him!? I must obtain freedom... at any cost!" she said excitedly, or more so anxiously and nervously. Her voice was jumpy, which her servant knew that her master was very afraid about what she was doing, but still managed to show power and confidence.

"Well, I am glad Your Highness is confident in herself..."

The princess hugged her servant and then shimmied down her balcony window to the grounds below. Guards were walking around, but the princess was concealed in a dark cloak and cowl, hiding herself in the night. Though it was a rather far stride to the wall, she managed to get there silently, running from tree to tree, bush to bush, never stopping unless a guard was too close. She kept check on the wall, watching till both guards passed by each other as they patrolled. Once they were several feet apart, she swung the hook and rope up to the wall. The hook made a soft clanking sound, but the crickets of the night and the owls were too loud for the noise to be heard. The wall was about twenty feet or so high, though it was rough and easy to scale. She quickly attempted to climb up the rope, but realized how hard it was and she had to stop half way up. Resting a small bit she quickly picked up the pace and got to the top of the wall. She collapsed to her feet, breathing hard. She didn't think it was suppose to be that much effort to pull herself up. She quickly slowed her breathing and the prepared to shimmy down the other side of the wall. She placed the hook on the other side and began to slowly make her way down. However, a quarter of the way down, she slipped and tugged on the rope. The hook snapped up and let go of its anchor and she feel. Somehow, she managed to land with only a bruise on her bum and her hand hurting a little. Until the hook fell upon her on the head, though it didn't knock her out, it did make her very light headed and nauseated with pain. This was an example of her bad luck, though only a small one. She got up, rubbing her head with her unhurt hand and walked to the city.

She was walking the main street of the market district, which, even though it was night, was still busy as can be. Midnight vendors were still trying to sell their goods to die hard merchants or people who could manage to spend their life at night. There was also a festival going on to celebrate a year long peace between Britannia and its rival empire. She was amazed by the sight of the people, the lights, the animals, the foods, the merchandise, everything captivated her interest. She completely forgot her bad luck, until she touched a stand of a merchant, which abruptly lost its balance and fell, collapsing on to all of his merchandise and his costumers looking on. But before the merchant could call her out, she was quick to get far away. She stopped by an inn and continued to look around, but a carriage going by quickly ran over a puddle and water sprayed all over her. Now she was wet and smelled like must, which she was very sad about, but now it made her feel like she would fit in slightly better now. She tried to stay away from large crowds, as that never went well, but she managed to watch most of the festival turn out well. Even though the fireworks misfired, the fire breather burned his face, the juggler threw a ball into the air and it never came back down, a magician's illusions were exposed quite publicly and embarrassingly, and fake sword fight turned into a real danger as the blunt swords were replaced, accidentally, with real ones, causing one man to, accidentally, cut off the arm of the other...

But other than that, the festival went well, very well indeed, even to the princess, since it was her first time seeing one. She was thirsty now and didn't dare go to the outdoor vendors. Instead she went into an inn, the closest one that she could find. She went inside and found most men fooling around drunk and wenches and whores sitting by those very men waiting for the opportunity to take all their money from them, as the Innkeeper was doing. There was only one man that was not as rowdy as the others, but he was asleep in the corner with his hood pulled down over his face. It was missing its feather, and was oddly pointed and jagged at the top, at least that's how the princess saw it. But it was of no importance to anyone in particular. The princess walked in and approached the bar, sitting as far as she could from the drunk men, though she could only get one stool away.

"What will it be, miss?" the Innkeeper asked in a raspy old voice. He sounded as though he had a few too many hard drinks over the past years, as his speech was slurred extremely badly, but clear enough to be mostly understood.

"Wine, please."

The Innkeeper pulled out a wooden mug and poured some rather poor quality wine, which the princess tasted and quickly tried to keep down. It was one of the most disgusting things she tasted, though she didn't want to show.

"That'll be fifteen coppers..." the Innkeeper said.

The princess pulled a wallet from her side and counted fifteen coins before she placed them on the table. The Innkeeper quickly swiped them away and then left around the corner. The princess was glad she could get away from the castle for awhile, even though it somehow turned out bad because of her as well. Unconsciously, she took a sip of the wine again and then made a rather sour face. Luckily the Innkeeper was not there to see it, and she swallowed it with a lot of effort.

"What's the matter sweetie, don't like the taste of good wine?" it was one of the drunken men, a skinny bastard who looked like he hadn't taken a bath in years, or slept for that matter. His face was dirty and hair was protruding from his chin like needles. His clothes were raggedy and torn and covered in god knows what. A big burly man, who looked almost as bad as the skinny guy, laughed while rubbing his fully grown beard. She tried to ignore them, but the man persisted.

"Come on, girl, I'm just trying to make conversation here... Don't you want to talk with a 'MAN'? I've got all you needs, hehehe..."

He attempted to touch her hand, which was placed on the bar beside her cup of bad wine, but she pulled away fast and swatted it away. It was her bad hand however, and she yelped a little, holding it in her other hand.

"Don't touch me!"

"Hey now, we just want a little... fun."

The two guys got up and approached her. Now extremely uncomfortable, she got up as well and tried to walk away, but the burly man grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. He was smiling like a pirate who just founds his booty, metaphorically speaking. His teeth were jagged, brown and yellow and his breath smelled of bad alcohol. The skinnier man pulled out the knife she had at her side and held brandished it like it was his own, and then threw it against the wall with it hit with a clank and then fell to the floor.. The other men saw what was going on and also started to get rowdy with the other two. The princess tried to get away, but the burly man had a extreme grip on her. The skinny man took her and had her against a thick wooden post that was in the middle of the inn. Holding her by the neck, she tried to force her to kiss him, but something caught his eye as it hit the post. It was a dagger, the very dagger the princess had. He felt a pain against his ear, and he reached over with his free hand and looked at his hand. Blood. The dagger nicked his ear. Silence now filled the room.

"I believe the young woman said not to touch her," it was the man that was asleep in the corner. He was standing beside his table now, standing in a rather intimidating, sober pose. Back straight up, face straight ahead despite the hood covering his eyes now, and hands at his sides as if ready to do something else, though they were hidden under the gray cloak upon his shoulders. Behind the cloak, through the opening revealed a thin leather vest, and several necklaces, but nothing worth noting of much protection.

"And who are you!?" screamed the man with the bleeding ear.

"Kael. Kael R. Markus," he said with a smile that would have made a devil think twice about what he had done.


	2. Chapter 2

"Kael..."

There was a tinge of fear in the man with the bleeding ear's voice, as though he had just been tricked into fighting a bull with his underwear.

"As in the dreaded Kael the Judge!?" he continued and then loosened his grip the princesses neck. She coughed as her throat hurt badly from the man's grip. Every guy in the inn stared and slowly backed away as Kael began to walk forward.

Supposedly, from stories told by very few survivors (mostly petty thieves, onlookers, and extremely disturbed battle hardened warriors that were let off easy), Kael the Judge was this mighty fighter that would appear from nowhere in a ghastly mist upon a pitch black horse with red glowing eyes. His armor was large and thick, studded with spikes all around, and a helmet with horns that curved forward to his face. But instead of a visor that usually accompanied the helm, a mask was worn, supposedly with the right half with a demonic face that looked sad, as if it showed sympathy. The left half had a demonic face with a smile, as if it was ready to devour your soul. This man was the most feared warrior, though he seemed to only appear upon those who did something bad and the demonic smile reached through most stories that were told. Of course, rumors are always distorted, so it was either never trusted or derived from several minds.

"No!"

All the men in the inn finally breathed out in a sigh, relieved he wasn't the great destroyer. Kael removed his hood, revealing a young, perfect face of a newly adulted male. His hair was short and only reached just above his brow, but in the back held to long strands of hair, braided in what looked to be white cloth that was dirtied and stained over some time. His eyes a light, but deadly brown, like that of someone sly. He was smiling in a witty manner, revealing rather perfectly formed teeth, though his canines expressed themselves like fangs of a fox.

"Do I look like a Judge? No, I am a Scholar not a Judge!! However, do not take me for granted, let the girl go and I won't have to hurt you..."

Silence hung in the air, the men murmured to themselves and analyzed Kael. He was small, thin, young, and looked as if he had no muscle upon his body what so ever. Then they laughed at him and shook the entire inn. The princess was really afraid now, she also didn't have confidence in her was-to-be hero. But Kael began to laugh as well, obviously not realizing that the drunken men were laughing at him, so felt the princess. But she was naïve to who he really was...

"You hurt us!? HA! We are battle hardened men! Formerly soldiers, now we are mercenaries for hire!! How could someone like you, small and thin and scholarly, plan to defeat the likes of us!?"

"So they say, 'Knowledge is Power' and 'the pen is mightier than the sword'..."

He took a small, wooden pipe like object from his cloak, and held it front of him in a defensive manner. It was possibly only two feet in length and was shaped like two femur bones fused together, despite looking hollow inside. In fact, it was bamboo, but the drunken men saw it as two leg bones glued together. This only added to the comedy bestowed upon them and added to their morale to defeat their opponent and reap their prize, metaphorically speaking. They drew their swords from their sheaths, axes from their holders, hammers from the floors and brandished them, attempting to intimidate their opponent, but Kael was unmoved. His tiny bone pipe-like thing still in front of him, still in his defensive pose, still just standing there, but his face was more serious yet still smiling in his witty manner before.

One man with a short sword thrusted forward, trying to stab Kael with all his might, however, Kael moved out of the way, letting his opponent's sword fly beside him, and with a twist of the wrist and that sound of a hollow wooden ball falling down stairs, the sword flew out of the man's hand. It was all lightning fast to the drunk mercs. They all saw it and suddenly thought that Kael had used magic to expel the sword from the guys hand with the leg bones. But the princess, unbeknown to the men, saw what really had happened. She saw how the object hid a retractable rod inside, made of smaller bamboo sections so that one would cascade over the other, and with momentum the rod flew out and knocked the sword from the guys hands, and then retracted back into the pipe as if it was never there. Astonished of how the sword flew from his hands, the guy fell to the floor and crawled away, cursing at Kael with every curse he could think of (which in short of various "damn you"s). Kael only smiled back at him. A man with an axe came running forth, and swinging it sideways, he aimed it so that Kael was unable to move to the side away from the axe, as the bar was directly to his other side. It was also precisely in the middle so the Kael could neither duck nor jump to dodge it. However, this was all coincidence as the man was still hung over. Although the man hoped Kael would block, Kael moved towards the bar and spun around the axe man, and with the same momentum, shot the bamboo rod out and pulled the man's leg from underneath. He fell to the floor with a great thud. A war hammer swung from atop, but Kael easily moved out of the way, and it crashed to the ground, breaking the wooden floor boards. The man with the hammer was a little faster than the other two, and picked the hammer back up to swing a second time, with a diagonal curve. Kael suspected this, and as the swing came, he leaned away from the diagonal, just barely dodging it as the tip of his nose felt the air being pushed by the hammer. He swung the pipe around, easily revealing two rods now as both sides were retractable, and struck his opponent several times with the retracting rods, three times to the head, one at each arm and the a final to the crotch, which was the final blow. The man fell to the floor in the fetal position holding his bowels, making sure they were still existing. Another swordsman swung through, but Kael only just dodged it enough the sword didn't touch skin, but it ripped his cloak and cut a string the held...

Two objects fell to the floor, but made almost no noise as they seemed lighter than air. The slid on the floor, with a faint skid and rested there, taunting with their menacing faces. Like that of the masks of Shakespeare's comedy and tragedy, two halves of a full mask lay upon the floor with a smile of destruction and a frown of despair. They were the masks of Kael the Judge, and Kael the Judge was right in front of them.

"Aw, now see what you did, you ruined the fun out of all this... Now I might just have to kill you so that _no one will ever know..._" responded Kael like himself, however, the last couple of words slipped out with a nightmarish tone, intent to kill, the voice of blood thirst.

Chills ran across the men's spines and all of them began to cower where they stood. But the man whose ear was nicked was unconvinced. He re-moralized the men by throwing the knife on the post at Kael, which was deflected easily, but it was thrown so hard the pipe flew from his hands. At this the men realized he was unarmed, and all of them charged forth, now that there was no magic pipe. But Kael quickly pulled two three-pronged blades, known as the Sai, from behind his cloak, and began quickly removing weapons from each man. One by one, weapons from in the air and away from hands. They stuck to the ceiling and the wall, flew out windows and fell to the floor a ways away. Some men retired from the fight and surrendered by running off, while others attempted to fight with their hands, only to get poked and have bleeding holes upon their bodies. Though not mortally wounding, it was annoying and painful. Everyone backed off but the two men who started it all. The bigger one came up, and with a gauntlet fist, jabbed at Kael. Knowing he could never block the fists of metal, he moved side to side and ducked to make sure his face wasn't pounded in. But at the right moment, Kael gave his other hand the Sai and grabbed the outstretched arm of the man, pulling it forward to knock the guy off balance and then preceded by grabbing his leg and flipping him on to the ground. Kael turned to the guy with the nicked ear, who was trying to get the cloak off the princess, but she was being very stubborn. Holding the Sai from the tip, Kael threw it at an exact time as the guy brought his hand upwards to back hand the princess. The Sai struck his hand and stuck it to the post. Now concentrated on the pain, he let go of the princess and she ran off into the corner, coughing and breathing heavily as her throat hurt so much.

"My hand!" he yelled, trying to remove the Sai but it was too deep in the post to be removed.

Kael was already next to him holding the other Sai to his neck, just pressing on it so the guy could feel the cold unrelenting steel against his throat, and he said, "I told you that she said to not touch her, didn't I?"

"Why don't you put that toad sticker away, and fight with a real sword!?"

The guy reached over with his other hand and grabbed his sword which he blatantly slashed at Kael. Kael, with a swift movement, caught the sword within his Sai and threw it out of the man's hand.

"Because that toad sticker is holding your hand to the post, and this one just disarmed you..."

"I'm sorry, don't kill me!"

"I won't, don't you worry, but if I see you again, terrorizing any other young women, don't expect a great judgment from _**me**_," the last words seared into the guys brain as he screamed in fear. Kael removed the Sai and the man went running. Kael sheathed his Sai back in place behind his cloak, and walked over to the masks that fell, retying them to his waist. He then walked over to the princess, and offered a hand. She hesitated but gladly took it and was lifted back to her feet. She was still breathing heavily, but no longer coughing.

"What is your name?" Kael asked with his normal witty smile.

The princess found it charming and almost forgotten just how menacing and deadly he could have been. However, she replied anyways, smiling as well, for a moment, "Evelyn."

"My, my, what a wonderful name. Nice to meet you, Evelyn…"


	3. Chapter 3

The princess blushed, not use to such a compliment, and she looked away to try and hide it. Though Kael knew she was blushing, he did not say nor did anything about it. Instead he turned around, hearing the footsteps of the Innkeeper.

"Ya know, all though ya warned me this would happen, ya really ought to make things a little less reckless and destructive. This Inn is me pride an' joy..." the Innkeeper said solemnly, he wasn't exactly proud of what happened of course.

"Yes, I know, however, all these weapons that are left here should either get you a fine price to repair and improve the place, or make good decorations for the walls. But, even so, here is the money I prepared for everything that was going to happen. It should get the vital things fixed or replaced, but nothing special."

Kael pulled out a small bag of coins, and threw them to the Innkeeper, who reluctantly opened it and pulled out several gold coins. To his surprise, the bag had more than enough for the fixes.

"Ya welcome here anytime ya want, Friend."

"Oh, don't start calling me 'Friend' just because I gave you money. I suggest you use it wisely and stop letting prostitutes come in here and sell themselves for your profit. That way, you might actually get proper business in here than those idiot mercs. Anyways, I'll be staying one more night and that should weigh more than enough to cover it, no?"

"Of course, of course, I'll heed yer advice and let ya stay," the Innkeeper replied with slight disappointment.

"You knew that all this was going to happen?" Evelyn asked quickly, finally catching up to current events.

"Yes? Well, no, I had a feeling that something was going to happen. Like a calling, I was brought here to this Inn, and I warned the Innkeeper something may happen. I didn't know what, but, something came to be and now we are where we are. For me it was a manner of luck I was here, no?"

Evelyn, upon hearing the word luck, looked away in dismay.

"I'm not really that particularly good with luck, honestly..." she murmured, thinking only she heard herself.

"Really? Well, maybe that has changed. Luck has its ups and downs."

"Like when the drunken men exposed who you are?"

Kael went silent for a moment, which disturbed Evelyn, but he quickly found a solution.

"Exactly, but that was also kind of planned as well. Honestly, do you think I'm a person who destroys for a living and devours souls?"

Though he was laughing at this, Evelyn didn't find this funny...

Kael saw this and continued, "Honestly? You believe those rumors? Wow... that's a surprise. Must have been that one bard that I saved from a raiding caravan a while back. Seriously, I am Kael 'the Judge' but I am not a destroyer. The masks are a secondary persona I pull off when I don't want my face to be exposed to the public. In fact, that's how I usually go around large places, but since the rumors began, I've had to put the masks away for a good long time. Sadly now, I might get exposed..."

Kael rambled on, discussing to himself what he should do about all this. Evelyn, now surprised even more, was getting awfully confused as, even though Kael seemed awfully pessimistic about what would happen, he was still smiling in his witty manner.

"... but I always have other masks I could use. It's just a matter of making a new character, and that may very well prove to be a problem. I could always remain in real person, but then life wouldn't be much fun now would it. Oh how the gods will be disappointed in their newly committed actor, who plays the role of many characters and one. As the main, I should most valiantly-"

"Just who are you!?" Evelyn exclaimed, rather loudly too, as his ramble was now going away to the matter at hand.

"I would tell you know, but let us go somewhere where the walls have no ears or eyes." he replied, Evelyn still as confusing as ever. But he took her by the hand and they ran off through the city. The Innkeeper behind them only shook his head as if they were star crossed lovers. They ran through the city streets, to who knows where as far as Evelyn knew. They weaved through the city like mice in a maze. They ran through alleyways, climbed walls of buildings, hopped roof to roof, back down to the grounds and up a hill with a large lemon tree at the top. Some call it the golden apple tree, though the taste was sour because humans were never meant to eat from the tree, but that was a skeptical thing as people still managed to eat them.

"Ah! Here we are, no walls and open land for us to see and no one else to find," exclaimed Kael, quite loudly.

"But we are on top of a hill..." murmured Evelyn to herself.

"So we are, but it is night, midnight to be exact!"

"But the church bells never-" she began, interrupted as the very church bells she was talking about rang loudly in the city. It was indeed midnight, and the moon was high in the sky, above them, smiling down as the crest cradled itself in the starry sky.

"So you want to know who I am?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Who am I? What am I? Why am I?" he began, like a mad man, smiling like a devious devil that he was.

He pulled out his twin masks, locking them together with hidden hinges, fusing them into one, put it upon his face and said, in his witty manner, "I am Kael, the Judge. One who smiles and cries upon my judgments at the same time. Whether it be sympathy or deviousness, my foes will not know."

He put that mask on the ground, pulling another from behind him. It was a white face and rosy pink cheeks, smiling with the kind of glee of a gentleman instead of the other mask, that smiled devilishly. It also had thin black eyebrows, small pointed mustache and a small pointed spear of hair just under its lower lip. He put that mask upon his face, and spoke like a young, but well educated gentleman.

"I am also Kael, the Contour. Incorruptible, Cognitive, and Courteousness all coincidentally collected into one controlled consideration called a living conclusive conspiracy."

His new outlook change Evelyn's views of Kael, for now she found him exquisite and rhetorically handsome. But, alas, Kael, put that mask upon the ground and pulled out another. It was purely white, slanted eyes that curved downward where the nose would be and upward on the other end of the eyes. However, there was no mouth or nose on the mask, three red stripes on the forehead and two green strips under the eyes. Kael put it on his face, taking a much darker tone of voice.

"I am also Kael of Shadow. More silent than the night and more deadly than nightshade, there is no place you can hide that I have not already hidden."

Placing that mask on the ground, he took off his cloak this time, revealing a large backpack on his back that managed to come up to his shoulders and down his forearms. Taking off this pack, Evelyn just managed to realize how small Kael really was. He was only wearing a fairly fitted gray shirt and loose pants. His shoes were also small and thin, not something for far travel, according to what Evelyn knew. He was probably just a little bit bigger than her, but definitely taller than her. The backpack looked extremely heavy, and did not question his strength. Kael began to remove things from inside his pack, accessories that would only further how awkward Kael really was.

"This is me, I am all these things and yet none of them. Who I am defined by who I choose to be, and who I choose to be depends who I need to be," his voice was abnormally normal, like a person talking to another person, like a friend, not that of a witty man saving a young girl, "In truth, I am actually a normal human being. In part that I have been around the world since I was young, I was born here, with my father. My mother died when I was born, so I did not know of her. But my father was wonderful, he knew people from all over. I went to all the ends of the earth and saw all sides of the sea. I went south to the jungles of Afreka, and east all the way to Qina. You would not believe the things I saw if I even tried to describe them. I met countless scholars, teachers and leaders that shared their knowledge with me, just as they shared it with my father. My father went back here when I was about seven, and for ten long years I lived through every nation's views and ways of living. And now that I finally completed my last task not seven days ago, I came back here, in hopes to see him again. But my search has so far gotten me nothing. And when I was called to the Inn, I felt something would help me find my father. And that is who I am. But no longer, since now, is it who am I, but who are you? I know not of you, though I know everything, but now nothing..."

To Evelyn, his speech was almost poetic, like that of a bard, telling a wonderful story. A young boy got to see the world, with his father. And when his father left, the boy went struggled to complete his tasks to finally find his father again. To her, it was almost magical. But she was now paying attention to the fact that Kael was waiting for a response from her. She just realized she has kept her hood on the entire time, since she left the castle. She removed her hood, and revealed her face. Her skin was fair under the faint moonlight, and her eyes a rather bright blue, despite the darkness. Her light brown hair was braided from the front to the back, where it cascaded behind the cloak she wore.

"I'm Evelyn, daughter of Godfreud, Princess of Britannia," she said with a rather dignified voice, the kind that was heavily practiced under royalty to express their sense of higher power.

"My my, I've come upon a princess," he said with a smile and a respectable bow, which cause his cloth braid to come forward and touch his shoulder, "And what might your Highness be doing outside of a castle and in an Inn?"

She scowled and looked away; embarrassed that she was caught by a stranger. He only stood back up and laughed.

"I needed to get away from the castle. I'm too cooped up in there," she sighed.

"Why are you all cooped up in a castle? You should be out visiting the city sometime..."

She glared at him for contradicting himself, and he laughed at this too, but she continued, saying, "I have a curse, a really really bad case of bad luck. It's like a plague for all who come near me. No matter who you are, bad things would happen to other people, including my....self..."

Noticing Kael wasn't really paying attention, as he was staring up at the stars, she stopped speaking and scowled again at the fact he was being rather disrespectful this time.

"Hey now-"

"You see that constellation over there?" Kael interrupted, changing the subject completely. She looked at him with dismay and then tried to look for what he saw. But she couldn't seem to find it.

"I don't see it. Where?" she asked with a little anger in her voice, still startled in how he had interrupted her and changed the subject. But her mood changed suddenly when Kael came right behind her and was looking at the sky form behind her. His arm was on her shoulder and his hand was on her other, and he pulled her close. With his other hand, he pointed in the sky and said, "There."

With the help of his hand, she looked up and saw the picture in the night sky he was looking at. It was a constellation of a man, no, a beggar, with his hands in the air as if for hope to gain something.

"I was born on the day the Beggar received a miracle. When a comet came into the man's hands, like a coin finally coming into his arms, a renewal of life. It signifies eternal luck to be born upon that day, which only comes every eon or so."

His breathe was warm against her neck; he was warm against her. She hadn't been next to someone, at least this close, for so long, it's almost uncomfortable to her. But she remained still and watched and listened.

"Funny, I was born under the same constellation, but it was when the full moon was in the Beggar's hands and it was drifting away. That signifies eternal blight and bad luck," she said, her voice saddening as she spoke on, "And so I was kept away from the people, to ensure that the people would live good lives. Still things manage to happen to me and the empire. Plague, drought, famine, War..."

"That's so sad... maybe you and I should be together, you know, so that the whole luck thing balances?"

Taking it the wrong way, Evelyn pushed him off and turned to face him, saying, "I'm suppose to marry to a prince to end the war between Britannia and Espada!"

"So? I didn't mean I wanted to marry you, I just meant that if I was nearby, the whole thing will balance off and you wouldn't have to worry... Plus, I could be your, say, Advisor. If you need one of course," he said with a wink.

To her surprise, his logic made sense, and she quickly calmed down and pulled back her dignity as a princess.

"That would be very kind of you. I would like it if you could be nearby so that everything goes well in the future."

"It would be my honor, Your Majesty. And while I'm nearby, I'll teach you a few things. Things your tutors wouldn't be able to."

"That would be very nice of you..."

Silence hung in the air, and they stared at each other for some time. In the faint moonlight, Kael looked more and more attractive to her as time moved slowly onward, though in her mind, she was trying her best to tell herself that she was already engaged. The sun was slowly coming up from behind her, and they continued to stare. The light from the sun reached his head, making the black hair glisten, and then his face, revealing his emerald green eyes as the sunlight made them glow intensely. She felt as if she wanted to fall into his arms, like in a romantic story. In fact, she almost did it, as the feeling almost overwhelmed her, but it was Kael that approached her. He put his hands on her arms, and looked her right in the eyes, causing her to blush profusely.

"It's rude to stare, you know," he said softly, his white teeth glistening against the sunlight. The phrase caused her to turn from pink to red, and she looked away. Kael removed his hand from her shoulder and pulled her head back. They stared once more into each other's eyes and then....

"Hey, you!"

An Imperial Guardsman called form below the hill, and the princess immediately pulled away, looking down to the guard. Kael let go of her. Three guards ran up the hill, armor clanking as it moved, and the all pointed their halberds at Kael, who rose his hands in their air to announce he was unarmed.

"Did he hurt you princess?"

"No he did not, now put your arms down and you, put your arms down..."

The guards pulled the halberds away and Kael put down his arms as well.

"You're to be brought back to the castle, your Highness, it is not safe in the city, not with your marriage in five days," said one of the guards, which annoyed Evelyn very much.

"I know, I know," she sighed, "Take me back to the castle..."

The guards saluted and waited for the princess to follow. She turned around and faced Kael.

"Will you come to the castle with me?" she said to Kael, pleading to herself he would say yes.

"Alas I cannot, for I have reserved a place at the inn for the day" he responded, which caused her to sadden a little, "however, I can be ready by the next morning to come and stay at the castle."

To this, she brightened, and the hugged him saying, "Thank you, for everything" before she followed the guards down the hill and out of the garden district. When she disappeared, Kael gathered his things, put the backpack back on his back and put back the cloak once more. He pulled the hood over his head, and walked down the hill to the Inn, smiling and saying to himself, "What have we gotten ourselves into this time, Kael? What have we gotten ourselves into...?"


	4. Chapter 4

The hours of the rest of the day passed by with gruesomely slow determination; like a snail pulling a rock twice its size; like cold honey flowing down a non-angled surface; like it was practically taunting Evelyn. She had to wait a whole day just to wait for Kael to come to the castle, which was practically killing her in its own stead. She could not sleep the rest of that night and it was still only midday. No, it was more that she would not let herself sleep. Her first time in the city got her excited, even though it had practically gone all wrong. Her first time meeting a person of the opposite sex, that treated her more as an equal than a higher up, gave her an exquisite and foreign taste and feeling. This was not normal to her, completely different and new and awkward, and it made her overly curious. It was like a drug she tried for the first time, liked it, and now she needs more to get the same, or a new, feeling. For the first time, she was more interested in something else than taking care of her own being. This had caused her servants to become worried. They have never seen her so frantic and antsy. They feared she was going crazy, or was even possessed. Every time they would talk to her, she would start talking of her adventure in the city and all that had happened. They still thought her insane despite hearing how the guards found her in one of the Garden Districts with a man.

Her servants were the least of it however. It was when her father got word, that all had gone downhill...

"Evelyn!! What is the meaning of this!?" King Godfreud had screamed down the hall way of the Princess's bedroom. He burst through the doorway scaring three of the four servants there, but he did not manage to startle his daughter. She was on the balcony staring out on to the city, almost completely oblivious to what had just gone on. But, in fact, she was not oblivious. In fact, she was prepared. In fact, she had planned this was to happen, though no one knew about her plan.

"What is it that I hear, that you were with some... man, while you were gallivanting through the city without permission? When you're engaged!? Your fiancé is to be here in five days! Something could have happened to you! You could have been robbed! You could have been kidnapped! You could have been raped! You could have been killed, for god's sake! Are you listening to me!?"

Evelyn, who was still facing the city from her balcony view while her father was yelling his face off, she turned now to face her father. His face was red as fire and sweat was pouring from his face like a water fall, as his blood pressure was so high that the veins on his forehead looked as if they were going to explode.

"Yes, I'm listening," she said in the most unconcerned voice she could muster, her face, absolutely apathetic.

"Then why is there no concern for your part? Why is it that I am the only one concerned about this, other than your servants?"

"Because there is no need for concern. I'm here, right? I'm fine, right?"

"That isn't the point! That man you were with could have-"

"That man I was with was the one that prevented all those things from happening. And I am glad of it. He is supposed to be here the next morning, and I have been utterly impatient all day, since the guards found me just before sunrise."

"He!... he's coming here?" Kind Godfreud said, his voice oddly calming fast.

"Yes, he is."

"Oh... well then, I want to meet him first thing when he arrives!"

"That's fine. Can he stay as well, here at the castle?" there was a slight childish plea in her voice, most likely to charm her father into her will.

"I... I will have to think about that when... after, I see him. What is his name, may I ask?"

"Kael. Kael R. Markus…"

"Oh, okay… uh, we shall see. But I am still angry about what you did last night."

"Of course, I know," she said, but even so, she still ran over to hug her father in gratitude.

"Very well. Remember, first thing, he meets me."

"I know," and she kissed him on the cheek before he left to go back to his kingly duties.

The door closed shut and once again, Evelyn was in her whimsical outlook, still waiting for Kael to arrive. The sun was just setting before she finally tired herself out with all the frantic movements and excitements of his arrival, which practically only pertained to herself, that selfish girl. As a matter of fact, she didn't simple get tired, she had actually passed out on one of her servants, who managed to catch her before she fell to the floor. The quickly put her to bed and she was sound asleep, much like how a baby slept after a full stomach of warm milk.

Through the night Evelyn slept without a stir, like she was paralyzed, but in a good way, if there really was a good way to be paralyzed. Even though she had the most indefinite dream, one that would confuse and disturb even the most hardened of men. Though, by the time she woke up, the dream slipped her mind. It was day time, and the sun was bright and shining like a content being. Birds sung in the trees, just outside the balcony, and a cool breeze came through the balcony opening like a welcoming spirit, catching the smell of fresh apples and leaves. Her eyes opened slowly, as she had slept oddly well, despite the forgotten dream. She stretched slowly, and yawned widely as she was feeling rather refreshed since yesterday with all the excitement about...

She suddenly remembered, and jumped out of her bed, sending the comforter, sheets, a few pillows flying off her bed, which there was a soft rasp upon the floor where they waited for servants to put them into their proper places, and herself in hard thud and groan as a sheet wrapped around her ankle. She got off the floor and looked at the mirror and detested her hair, as it was wild and tangled into a mess, in which the term "bed head" comes to mind. She grabbed a brush and fixed her hair as best she could, taking a load of time as her hair would not cooperate. She changed out of her sleeping wares and quickly got into a less formal dress, or at least, something that seemed less formal. She certainly wouldn't dress up too much, as that might imply something to everyone, something that she didn't really wish to express too loudly.

Meanwhile, down by the gates, the guards were standing duty, like good guards would. The gates were cast iron, barred in a design that showed artistry that emanated power and fear. One standing on either side, the guards were both quite intimidating to look at. With bright blue armor on their seemingly massive bodies and with knight like helmets on their heads with visors down and with enormous halberds with sharpened blades on them, they were possibly the most extravagant and dangerous to bestow upon, which made them good Castle Gate Guardsmen. However, this look of power and danger did not stir anything within Kael. Oh no, he was a (somewhat) straight man that would not be fooled by any psychological display. In fact, just to fool around, as he had known what the gate guards looked like before he had even arrived, he chose to wear some... awkwardly formal clothing. He bestowed upon them a deep purple tailcoat jacket, buttoned with wine red buttons and pearl couplets at the sleeves; a metallic blue vest underneath; a pair of black and white shoes with points at the toe and a strap with a bright silver buckle; deep purple dress pants; pure white gloves; deep purple top hat with a velvety band; a redwood cane and gold monocle to top it all off. It was actually quite a show to see such a site stroll by, as the color suggested slight mockery of royalty, as purple is considered royal color. But Kael knew of this and still approached the gate guards with his look.

"Hello chaps," he said with a great smile upon his face, tipping his hat off to them. But they said no word of response, like he was never actually there.

"Might I be able to go inside please?"

Still no answer from them. They almost seemed like empty suits of armor if the halberds didn't bob every now and again.

"Good sirs, I am speaking to you, may I be graciously allowed into the castle," Kael said, now with a little frustration in his voice.

The guards still ignored him. This was annoying Kael, though this was still part of his act. He removed his monocle and acted as if he had some sort of stain on it, wiping it clean using a cloth he pulled from a pocket inside his jacket. He put the monocle back on his eye, and then swung his cane at the helm of the guard to his left. Almost mechanically, the guard blocked it and faced his bladed halberd at Kael, as did the other guard. Still, however, no word.

"Very good, I didn't want you guys to be sleeping on the job. But, now that I have your attention, can you please let me in?" he said with a smile. A mad man, the guards thought.

The guards removed their halberds from Kael's direction and one replied with, "Do you have an appointment with the king?"

His voice was metallic, apathetic and plain, deep and young, but emotionless.

"Uh, no..." Kael replied back, rubbing his chin and looking away as if he was pondering.

"Then I cannot let you pass, move along, sir."

"But I do have one with the king's daughter," Kael said, putting his finger in the air.

"She isn't taking visitors."

"But I'm expected to see her today," Kael said, pointing at the castle now.

"She isn't taking visitors."

"But she wanted me to be here," Kael said, pointing at the ground now.

"She isn't taking visitors."

"But she had asked me to come," Kael said with his wrists at his shoulder and his palms up.

"She isn't taking visitors."

"But I'm sure that she-"

"She... isn't.... taking.... visitors," the guard said, emphasizing every word with his helmet getting closer and closer to Kael as each spoke each word, "By order of the king, now move along."

He reported back to his post and stood there like a statue, as he was before. Kael could tell that the guard was getting a little annoyed, but the guard could also tell that Kael would not leave. And so it was a battle of standing, which the guard had done on days end, with a shift change about every four hours or so. Indefinitely, Kael only crossed his arms and waited. Then a messenger came from the castle doors, ran around the fountain (which was reluctantly in the center of the pathway that lead into the castle), and down the long stretch of path to the gates. He peered through the gates and stared at Kael, analyzing him up and down before continuing his business. What and odd way to dress, the messenger thought.

"Are you Kael?"

With a charming smile and tip of the hat, he replied, "Yes that is me."

"Guards, let him through, he is expected today."

The guards sighed and then opened the gate to let Kael through. Kael, as an odd and charming gentleman that he was, walked past the guards and followed the messenger to the castle. The guards closed the gates and resumed position.

"That wasn't Kael the Judge, you don't think?" asked the other guard, who had a lighter voice that his comrade.

"Nah, can't be. Did you see how small that guy was?"

"I guess so... Who was he, anyways?"

"I have no clue..."

The messenger led Kael, who was now thoroughly proud of himself, into the castle. Just beyond the door, there was a grand entrance way. Two sets of stairs on either end of the room, that cascaded down with a slight curve. Between them was a long hallway. On the floor was carpet, marked with the insignia of Britannia, which was the Woodland Stag, and lined with designs fit for royalty. On the walls, tapestry hung, with lords and ladies alike, most likely those that were relatives of the royal bloodline. Servants ran about here and there and disappeared behind doors or through hallways that lead to more doors and hallways. Kael was rather impressed with the architect that was imbued into the stone of the castle itself, and the artwork. He whistled to himself as he walked in, taking in the majesty that the castle beheld. A small scream came from above, and Kael looked up to see Evelyn at the top with a big bright smile. She ran down the stairs as fast she could, stumbling a few times, though she managed to catch herself. When she finally made it down, Kael took off his hat and prepared to bow proudly, but Evelyn was too fast for him as she embraced him. Her grip was rather impressive to Kael, but it was still loving, like a mother who hasn't seen her son in years. She let go of him, and smiled with a bright, youthful smile. Kael only smiled back.

"Oh!" she said, suddenly realizing what she had to do first, "You have to meet my father, he wants to know you first, before you can stay here."

"Um, okay?" Kael said, for once, oddly confused. He was usually prepared for all of this. In actuality, he was, but still, this was different. Evelyn pulled him by the arm through the hallway between the stairs, and into a larger room, most likely a median between the entrance and throne room where lords and ladies alike can discuss their things while waiting for their appointment with the king. However, Evelyn flew through the room with Kael by the arm and entered the throne room through doors opened by two guards. Kael was brought into the throne room, and the king was at his throne, talking to his advisor. Evelyn left Kael in front of the throne, and walked up to her father. She interrupted him, kindly of course, and brought his attention to Kael. He looked to his daughter first, and then to Kael, and then brought his full attention all at once. In the little time it took Evelyn to call her father's attention, Kael managed to remove his mockingly colorful clothing and brought himself down to simple black leather sleeveless top and combat pants. However, he did not remove his shoes, or the top hat. His arms were behind his back and his body straight up, like that of a soldier at ease. It was impressive and odd in its own way, as the king, Evelyn, the guards around the throne room, and the advisor were impressed and disturbed.

"I am Kael R. Markus, son of Art Markus. I have no homeland, as everywhere is my homeland. And now I ask that you make Britannia a home to me as well," Kael said, removing his hat and bowing lowly in uttermost respect, despite his choice of clothing.

The King Godfreud was rather impressed.

"I knew that Art had a son, but I knew not that it was you."

"So you do know my father," Kael said, now himself being impressed.

"Yes, I did, but he has moved on now, he traveled elsewhere. He has helped Britannia, in the long run of her age and glory, and has even managed to settle a peaceful outlook between our nation and our long lived rival, Espada..."

"Was the engagement apart of his plan as well?" said Kael, curiously.

"No, it was not, it was Espada's idea of a true peace and union of two powerful nations. Your father only led us to peace."

How interesting, Kael thought to himself. His father would have suggested such a thing, but his absence in the idea made things less obvious and more obscure. But this did not bother Kael.

"However, since you are the son of Art, I am sure to find that you will help in many ways and do many things for my daughter, since she has found a certain interest as you. But forget not that she is engaged to be married. No relations other than that of possibly a guardianship will be allowed, though even that is ill-advised. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Kael said quickly with a bow, just as low as his first.

"Very well, he can stay," King Godfreud said calmly.

"Oh! Thank you, daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Evelyn said, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek before pulling Kael out of the throne room with the speed of the wind. In seconds she was out of the throne room and behind closed doors. The deal was done, and the seal set in place. Now, King Godfreud must wait and see what would happen. Art Markus was a great man, a great scholar, and an angel who brought many things that helped Britannia grow. Hopefully, his son would do the same, and possibly more...


	5. Chapter 5

Evelyn dragged Kael out of the throne room and into the next room, before he managed to grab his other belongings, that of which he had left in the throne room. But it did not matter to him, they were petty costume props and were disposable. What he needed was the things he left within the Inn.

"Oh, we are going to have so much fun, you have got to teach me everything you know!," exclaimed Evelyn, more excited now more than ever.

"Of course, of course, but one thing at a time first. I need the things that I left in my room at that Inn. It had many things that are precious to me, and things that can help me teach you things that this place cannot offer," Kael replied frankly. He was happy to be in the castle, happy to get to stay at the castle, and happy that he was able to be beside the princess, but sad that his father had gone away. Before he had come to Britannia, Kael had written to his father about his coming, and asked that he would meet him somewhere. Although no reply came, Kael still had high hopes, but it seems fate decided it was not time just yet.

"That's fine, I'll send some servants to gather your stuff," she said. With a clap of her hands and a beckon call, several servants came to, which immediately obeyed the order given to them and they all set off in their certain directions, fixing to finish whatever they were suppose to do so that they may complete their next task.

"Okay, now, can you show me where your tutors have kept you? I would like to know what you already know, if that's okay with you..." Kael said, still being frank.

"Alright, follow me. I'll take you to the library. That's where my tutors took me to learn."

"I would assume so, with all the books and stuff at their disposal for them to teach you."

"I only learned from almost half the library. Mostly upon my own choice, as I had a lot of time on my hands being cooped up in a castle."

"Understandable..."

They walked through many hallways and doorways. Though only one stair case, Kael was being sure to keep his head about himself so that he would not get lost in the castle. While they walked together, they conversed on many things, mostly on Evelyn's past. Kael listened intently, though he knew Evelyn did not particularly like the subject. But Evelyn managed to drag on the conversation upon her own will and spilled out everything about her child life. It took just five and half minutes of Evelyn's childhood till they reached the library doors. Evelyn opened the doors and revealed a rather small library. For such a great castle, surely it would have a very grand library. But, to Kael's disbelief, it was a small library. It was about the size of a general meeting room, with a small round table in the middle and four small chairs. A large candle holder was on the middle of the table, for lighting. The bookshelves lined the walls all around, except the wall with the door that Kael and Evelyn walked through. Though they were filled with books from top to bottom, the room was not very big to have that much knowledge to bestow.

"This is your library? It's not as big as I had hoped."

"Really? I know it's not big per say, but it's held enough for my tutors..."

"I'm going to need to skim through the books then, to know what you have learned, what you have yet to learn, and what I will teach you myself."

"Okay, how can I help?" Evelyn asked, smiling, hoping to be helpful to him.

"I don't need any help right now," Kael said, already looking through the books, taking few of them out and looking through their pages, but others just skipping over.

"Um... okay..." sighed Evelyn, slightly depressed. She wanted to help, and now Kael detected this. So, since he didn't need any help, he thought he would keep her entertained for the moment.

"Okay, come here, I something for you. It'll pass the time," Kael said, reaching into his pocket as he saw Evelyn brighten up once more. He pulled out from his pocket a small tube like object, made of what looked like wood, meshed together in braids, crisscrossing each other. Kael showed it to her and she stared at it, confused and amazed.

"What is it?" she asked, oddly interested now.

"I'll show you, here, put this finger here and the other here," Kael explained, taking both her index fingers and placing them inside the tube. Her fingers just fitted perfectly into it. She was extremely confused now, having no idea what was going on.

"There," Kael said, "Now go ahead and figure it out, while I go skim through he books..."

"Wait, what do you mean figure it out?" Evelyn said as Kael walked away from her to continue his look, while she tried to pull her fingers out of the tube. But her fingers wouldn't budge? She looked at her fingers and pulled, but they would not be removed from the tube.

"What is this thing?" she cried out.

"It's a finger cuff, made in Qina as a way to trick and entertain kids. It's a simple tool to trick people with, with a simple solution as well, but most people don't get it. So use your wits," Kael said, winking at her before going back to his look through the library. Evelyn was struggling through the whole process of trying to remove the finger cuff from her fingers. She pulled and pulled but with no prevail. She looked at Kael every now and again, giving him a dirty look for tricking her into this mess. She tried to think of every way she could to try and get out of the cuff. She tried using the edge of the table to try and break it, which ending up failing because the wooden was able to bend. She tried rubbing it against the edge of the table, possibly to wear out the wood, but this took too long and took too much effort. She tried biting through it, but it only proved to be just like the table. She tried using her foot to add to the pulling force, but it only hurt her hands. She thought about using the candle fire, but threw the idea out as her fingers were inside the tube and that would not be a good idea. By then, she just got tired of it and was consecutively stopping and pulling until Kael, who was finally done looking through the books, came over and sat beside her.

"Get this thing off me..."

"Are you sure you want to give up?"

"If it gets this thing off me!" she said, greatly annoyed and tired and frustrated.

"Okay," Kael replied, taking her hands and then pushed them together, then held the tube with one hand and slipped one of the fingers out of the tube, which made getting the other finger out without effort. To this, Evelyn was stunned and embarrassed.

"The whole point of this exercise is that it is harder to pulling some things apart than it is to bring them together."

She blushed now, realizing he was holding her hand and how poetic the whole thing sounded. However, she pulled away, because he had put her in such a confusing and frustrating situation.

"You shouldn't have done something like that, it was very rude..." she had said to him, scowling to herself.

"I'm sorry, it's yours now though," Kael said, taking her hand again and placing the finger cuff into it, folding her hand closed over it, "Do what you like with it, it may prove useful in some situation. You never know."

Now Evelyn was really blushing, her face growing pink, as both his hands were on her hand, his touch warm and comforting. His smile was kind and loving, more so than witty and joking. His emerald eyes glimmering in the candle light like priceless gems. The same foreign feeling that she had before was coming back, and she was extremely nervous now. Her mind was racing through a storm of thoughts, ideas and assumptions. Her heart was beginning to thump harder and harder and faster and faster. What is this, she thought, what is this odd feeling I get inside when he...

Her thought was interrupted as in the five second silence between them, Kael had let go and continued to talk, saying, "So anyways, if my calculations are right, half these books you have read. I don't know exactly which books you have read, though it really doesn't matter since the ones that actually teach something I'm assuming your tutors used. The others, however, are totally irrelevant to our goal. Obviously, you know literature and rhetoric, as you can speak well with a good enough vocabulary to keep up... So I don't need you to, already, read about one-third of the books in here. This, in turn, means that you don't need to read any of the books here for me to help you with..."

"That's good, right?" Evelyn asked, now interested in what she needed to do for him to teach her new things.

"Very. In fact, this means you won't need to study over night, at least not through reading books..."

To this, Evelyn was relieved, because though she didn't hate reading, she wasn't exactly a fan of reading either. She had to deal with books most of her learning life, and repetition of constant reading has given a bad taste in her mouth about reading. So she was extremely glad, and sighed quite loudly in relief.

"However, my teachings will require that you practice them, constantly, whether it be physical practice or mental. This may or may not require reading, and they can be very stressful and exceedingly difficult. But if you are willing to put effort into putting time to do the things I tell you, you will excel and everything will become useful for many situations... Are you willing to do this?"

Evelyn was surprised at how serious Kael was being. She had never thought a person with such a light hearted attitude about most things would have such a serious side. His eyes showed that he was serious, his tone of voice showed that he was serious, his body language showed he was serious, this was probably the utmost serious Kael had ever been. He was not a teacher by trade, but he was a knowledgeable scholar, a person of profound knowledge learned throughout the years of his life. It was basically half his life completely focused on educating him in the knowledge of the world. Kael knew he was being rather serious, but did not take it lightly himself. He **was** serious, and he was not lying about how hard he would be on her, despite her royalty, femininity, and innocent figure.

"Yes, I am willing to do that..."

Kael was silent, waiting to see if Evelyn wanted to think twice about what she had said. But her own silence tells it all. Though she was unsure what she had just agreed to, she was willing to do it. Kael turned his head and raised an eye brow, in assurance that she understood.

"Okay, my only problem now is that I do not have my items that I require to teach you certain things."

At that moment, a messenger came to the door and bowed before speaking.

"A message for Your Majesty."

"Go ahead."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. The servants sent out to receive Your Majesty's guest's belongings said that they would arrive by night fall with everything. They also say that a guest room was prepared before they set out to receive Your Majesty's guest's belongings. However, they ask where Your Majesty would prefer to place the belongings, as it seems Your Majesty's guest has many belongings and it will not all fill in the guest room prepared..."

"Do you have a large empty room that is currently not being used?" Kael asked.

"Um," Evelyn pondered for a moment, "I believe there is a large room at the top of a tower in the center of the castle. It also has access to an open walkway on top of the tower above the room. It was originally meant for star sooth sayers, but your father, I believe, told my father, the King, that they were heretics that could not tell anything from the stars. It's been empty ever since."

"Sounds like my father," Kael said, laughing at what she had said, "Go ahead and place my belongings in there, and I will accompany them to place things where I need them."

"Very well, thank you, sir," were the last words of the messenger before he ran off to convey the message.

Time passed on through the day as Kael had asked Evelyn to try and recall everything she had learned from her past tutors, and Evelyn complied well. At first, the whole thing was rather awkward for Evelyn, as she seemed still not use to talking so much to someone like Kael, but Kael's attentive listening urged her on and made her more comfortable as she continued through her speech of her past learning. She spoke with the subjects she liked very much with great excitement, explaining what she liked about the subject and what had caught her interests. Though she had little resentment for subjects she did not like, she avoided long conversation about them. The whole process took several hours, as Evelyn would manage to stop every now and again and ask Kael a question about a certain thing she did not understand, or wanted more detail of. This or Kael would interject with what Evelyn had learned, calling it "falsified knowledge", but he answered as attentively as he was listening, and he was careful to get every detail to her without confusion. Evelyn was beginning to understand why he had been called a scholar and saw the extent of his knowledge, or so she thought.

After the hours passed by without interruption, they soon realized how late it was by the suddenly noticeable drop of the height of the lit candle, which snuffed itself out right when both Kael and Evelyn decided to go down to the dining hall and eat dinner with the king. Dinner was less awkward than the throne room, as Kael was a fine gentleman at the table...

...Until the King and him started to joke about Kael's father and his tenacities, foibles, and quirks. Kael knew his father well, despite not seeing him for years and being left behind at a young age. However, stories have given him a great deal of knowledge on his own father. His father was known to get easily over excited with some things and would often scream for joy and run around the castle screaming about his success until he passed out on the floor from staying up all night trying to complete his task. Kael's father also has a bad sweet tooth and would go utterly crazy over sweets, which only added to the screams of joy and the screaming around the castle. However, not everything was to make fun of him. Art Markus was also known for humiliating a person in the fastest and worst way he could find himself to be able to do to the person if they were to try to insult him or would not follow his orders when he was given permission to give them. One soldier ended up "volunteering" to be launched on the catapult, but it was early morning and the soldier was still in his underwear sleeping when he was thrown over the wall. The soldier did survive, but he also learned not to insult and to always follow Art's orders. The soldier also ended up finding his armor and blade greased, which made him unable to put on his armor properly or grasp his sword without it flinging from his hand. All this done because of a single insult and refusal to follow orders? Kael understood the reason for this, and did not deny he would have done the same. Evelyn was actually impressed by Kael's father now, though she only knew of him faintly from when she was young. Though she was left out of the conversation, as it was mostly between King Godfreud and Kael, she did not feel bad about listening and not speaking. She ate kindly and listened in to learn about Kael, but only learned more about her father's life and Kael's father's accomplishments as the King's former advisor.

After dinner, Kael had walked Evelyn to her room and wished her good night before going off to direct the servants on where to place his belongings. Evelyn was especially happy about everything that had happened that day; it was as if her luck was changing completely, despite the humiliation with the finger cuff. She changed into something to sleep in and hopped under the covers. Before turning over and attempting to sleep, she reflected on everything that had happened, simply because she decided to take matters into her own hands, despite her bad luck in everything. Her reflection led her to fall asleep sooner than Evelyn could turn over and she slept soundly halfway between sleeping on her side and on her back. Later she would regret this as she was going to wake up with a numbed arm...


	6. Chapter 6

Days passed by rather quickly for Evelyn during her events of practice and learning. She learned a lot from Kael, much more than from her former tutors. She learned constellations and their meanings behind them, the history and mythologies of other countries, the advantages of some areas versus others, so much that Evelyn was amazed at how little she actually knew of the world. He was especially good at teaching her, and strict, but not so much that she felt overly burdened. Even better, less bad things than usual have occurred and this made life across Britannia was becoming a lot better than before Kael appeared. Kael had been glad he chose to stay after the princess and teach her things she was unable to learn from her other tutors. It gave him a sense of pride that he did not understand now, but he accepted it never the less. He even once promised to take her around the world, if he could.

The days passed by and Evelyn almost forgot the most important thing that was happen on the very day that was now nearly midday. Combat training with Kael was scheduled for midday on this day and Evelyn rather liked weapon combat. It was different from what her father would approve of, but she didn't care. Kael said it would be best if she learned to defend herself if need be than to be a damsel in distress all the time, and Evelyn accepted that idea. So far, she has learned how to use small, light weapons, which were perfect for her. She especially liked the sabre, a fencer's weapon which was small and light, but just as deadly as any other sword. Kael would use a range of weapon's to test Evelyn on how proficient she was in using her favorite weapon, though she could use other weapons when her favorite wasn't with her. Kael went through by grabbing as many weapons as he could, usually things like a spear, axe, a couple swords, and a wooden quarter staff, and using them until they broke or were thrown from his hands, though he went rather easy on Evelyn. Every time they practiced, they would draw a crowd of guards. At first, they were there for Evelyn's protection, but now , they were here for entertainment. They loved seeing their prized princess fight with unique swordsmanship against a weapon's master like Kael. Kael was especially proficient in all weapons, though there were many he had not seen before, he could surely use them without effort. Kael now had a hand-and-a-half sword brandished in front of Evelyn's small sabre, but in truth, the size of the sword did not matter. It was the skill behind the sword.

The guards would watch Kael swing his sword with one or two hands; left, right, up, down, and thrust to the front. Each time, Evelyn would parry the blow and slash or thrust back. Kael was able the guard the slashing, but the thrusting was hard as her weapon was thin and fast, his was heavy and big. He had to parry back, which left large openings that Evelyn went for immediately. Soon, their swords were interlocked in a spiraling battle of holding on to the blades at hand, but Kael's large bastard sword got caught up and left his hands and flew into the air. Evelyn instinctively thrusted and rested the blade, carefully, on Kael's neck which signaled a killing and winning strike. The guards that watched cheered as their princess had won against the teacher.

"Good, you saw the openings that the sword caused and took advantage of the fact I couldn't block your sword when you pushed forward. But, I was going easy on you, and this wasn't to the death," Kael explained, removing the sword from his neck, "There's a grand difference between practice sparring and real battles. Be ready to kill if you have to..."

"Of course, though I hope that never happens..." Evelyn replied, sheathing her sabre in her belt. No longer did she seem like a princess, she seemed more like a traveling fencer, with the outfit she was wearing, which consisted of cloth and leather coverings, that gave some protection; high leather boots, leather gloves with the fingers cut for better grip on the blade; and a thick leather belt with several pouches and a loop for her sabre, which was specifically smithed when Kael discovered Evelyn's natural ability of using the weapon, and her favoring it above others. A loud bellow, though it sounded more like a squeal to Kael, came from the entrance. Turned out, the bastard sword that flew from Kael's hands flew towards the entrance, and stuck in the ground, right in front of an awkward handsome tall, blonde haired man who was dressed obnoxiously rich. Behind him were three body guards, one of them a woman, who was dressed differently from the two other guards, and carried a bow and quiver instead of swords. The supposed victim seemed awfully and hilariously distressed, like an over dramatic actor, though his body guards seemed defensive now.

"Who dares throw a weapon at me?! I demand to know who, so that I may hang him myself! They could have killed me and sparked a new war between our two nations!! WHO DID IT!?" the man yelled. All was silent before him. The guards didn't want to say it was the princess, though they were sure that he would not recognize her in that outfit.

"Prince Dario of Espada has made a demand to know who threw the blade in his direction and nearly killing him," the woman behind Prince Dario stated. It seemed that she was a loyal right hand man... woman.

Kael walked up rubbing the back of his head and smiled innocently.

"I'm sorry, we were having a very intense spar, and this young lady here spun the blade from my hands and it kinda flew in your direction without us knowing you were there..."

"You should have had a better grip on your blade, amateur," Prince Dario said, with enough spite in his voice to cause the guards to tense up.

"Yes, you are very right, however, if you sparred with this fine young lady, your sword would fly from your hands as well," Kael said back, staying as innocent as ever. Evelyn's eyes widened as he had just given the prince a chance to challenge her, which, if his nobility presumed, he would immediately take.

"Sadly, if this was any other day, I would gladly take up a chance to spar, but not now. I am looking for the princess. I heard she was down here, but I do not seem to see her."

"I'm right here..." the princess said, making the prince look around even more, "I said, 'I'm right here'!"

The prince finally looked in her direction and seemed appalled. He seemed to detest how the princess was dressed, where the princess was and, now, what the princess was doing.

"By the gods, what are you doing in those clothes in the place!? This is not the place for my fiancé, get out of that outfit and get into proper cloths! Absolutely awful..." Prince Dario had finished and began his way out of the room that was obviously bothering him to the greatest point. His body guards followed loyally and the princess looked ashamed. Evelyn looked as if she were about to cry, but she stood straight up and took a breath in to calm herself.

"Is he always that rude?" Kael said out loud. Of all things he could have said, this almost hurt Evelyn to the core. That was who was she was going to marry and he was practically rubbing it in.

"I wouldn't know... I hope not, otherwise, this is going to be the worst life ever..."

"No it won't, I will be close by. He's just being a snobby rich, spoiled brat, like most nobility that get pampered since birth. You look great and you did great, but right now, you need to go change and get ready, because your father will want to talk to you in front of the prince about everything."

"Okay, promise me you won't do anything stupid. I know you, and you really want to do something that would embarrass him or something," Evelyn asked concerningly.

"Am I really that obvious?" Kael said smiling more innocently than he played. I've been caught, he thought to himself.

"Yes, you are, now promise!" she said, wanting him to swear now before she changed.

"I promise, I swear, I will follow all that I have agreed to."

"Good..."

"But if he starts anything, I will hold back as much as I can, but no promises after that."

"I knew there was no guarantee, I'm going to go change now, wait for me."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Kael said with a bow.

"Oh and thank you for the sparring lesson today," she said with a quick respectable bow, stating she was thankful and respectful.

"Your very welcome, quickly now, or we won't hear the end of it from the spoiled prince."

Again, slightly hurt, but she pushed it away and left to go change into more royal clothes, though she carried the sabre with her. She did not want to let go of it now, it was hers and she wanted it forever. It was a symbol of her change in character and how she was no longer a helpless little girl but a young woman who could now think for herself and defend herself. No longer was she a plague upon her country, but a learned person who had almost nothing to worry about, and had a somewhat bright future ahead of her, or so she thought before she got to the throne room. By then, it seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer as each moment passed.

Prince Dario went through conversation, er, direct speaking with the king on everything a selfishly royal prince could speak of. He talked about his horrid travel to the capital city and how the roads were too ragged for his carriage to handle and the rains were overly dreary and every other thing that the king could not really help. In fact, through that list of dislikes and dismays, the king actually leaned on one arm and smiled, laughing in his head at how overly spoiled Dario was and how much he actually lived under a rock. King Godfreud had heard about Dario's swordsmanship, but the fact of all the complaints made him disbelief that idea now. After the prince complained, now the prince retorted with himself and went on about how Britannian architecture was an abomination and how Britannian art was horrific and how Britannians lived like peasants everywhere, and more things that now the king was upright and glaring. He did not like taking such crude comments from such a spoiled brat, who knew nothing about the history of Britannia and its influences. He also could not believe he had betrothed his daughter to such a – excuse the king's language, please – pain in the ass. Then the prince went on to talk about what he wanted out of the marriage, and what he expected from the princess, and what he called for from the inheritance of both nations, Britannia and Espada. Now the Espan prince was pushing his luck and power within the Britannian king's presence. He maybe tall, blonde, and built like a knight whose had the best training in the world, but he won't get anywhere with that kind of attitude in the presence of the leader of the nation he is trying to make a peace with. However, the prince saw it differently.

"And that's how I see it as of now, as Espada has an army waiting to attack if you do not concede to our demands..."

The king chuckled slightly at "our" and "demands", making the Prince aggravated and uncomfortable.

"Are you sure they're your demands or 'Your' demands?"

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"No, I beg your pardon, Princeling, because as far as I can tell, you are in my nation, in my city, in my castle, in my throne room, before my presence. I can hold you hostage and for ransom, as you are the only son of the Great Queen of Espada, making ransom a very good choice indeed. So right now, I want you to-"

"How dare you even make that kind of blatant threa-"

"SHUT UP!" at this the prince cringed and his guards tensed as they power of the king's voice was threatening enough, even the king's guards adjusted their stances, " listen, and learn to compromise when forming a marital treaty among the other side of a war."

When the king finished, his voice went back to calm but the prince was still in fear and dismay that the king of, what he thought of course, a losing country would speak to him in such manner. Kael kept a straight face while he stood beside Princess Evelyn, who sat in her throne chair by her father; however, in his head he was chuckling, though he quickly stopped himself, feeling he was being very disrespectful, even in his own head. The King was smiling a smile saying he had won most graciously in the battle of words, and the princess was staring at the prince, wondering why she had ever gotten into this mess.

"Do you even know who you speak to!?"

"I most definitely know to whom I speak to, I don't even need my advisor to tell me who you are or how to speak to you!" at this the advisor turned up his nose, though whether out of the king's pride or offense to what the king said, it looked both, "And when you finish your words that come from your snake tongue, you will address me as 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Highness'. You will not make 'demands' of me for I am the king and I AM above you in power, I make demands of you! And this is not what YOU get to have when you are wed to MY daughter; this is what you will receive from Britannia including what Espada will share in expense! Do I make myself clear?"

"If you want this treaty to go will I suggest-"

"If you want your head to remain on your shoulders, I suggest you choose your words again! Do I make myself clear!?"

The prince looked around, as if to find moral support, but his guards were practically shaking in their boots, and his right hand was trying to advise him to just give up in trying to make demands with someone of such high power and authority. The prince dropped his head, sighed and replied, "I am sorry, 'Your Majesty'"

The words sounded sick from Dario's mouth, but the king was quite proud of the effort made.

"However, I do have one thing to address about, Your Highness"

This time it came all too natural, and the king was more than surprised and listened to what the prince had to say.

"Your Majesty, I would like to know why there is a man with my fiancé and why he is teaching her things that a princess should not know, like fighting with blades. That is for a man to do, not a women."

Almost half ignoring Dario's question, King Godfreud leaned towards his daughter and asked if this was true. She nodded and the king looked at Kael, who smiled back in response. Obviously there was a reason behind why Kael taught her these things and King Godfreud accepted it as such.

"This man is the son of Art Markus, I'm sure you have heard of him, and he is acting as a tutor for my daughter..."

"And advisor for later years," Evelyn said, though no one seemed to hear her.

"Art Markus? The Scholar? His son? Surely you jest, a scholar knows nothing about sword play other than the concepts, steps, and technique, but they know not of how to actually perform the art. How can he teach your daughter something that he wouldn't know?" Prince Dario was now presenting a cocky output, as he figured of all the scholars he knew of or heard of, none knew of how to fight, other than with words. Unfortunately, Dario never met Art in person and only heard of the great knowledgeable things that he accomplished. And to this, Kael was not moved at all.

"Permission to speak, Your Highness?" asked Kael, politely.

"Of course, Kael, son of Art Markus," the king granted, seeming to emphasize the origin of kin.

"Prince Dario, you know me and my father as a scholar and you are correct in that. We are scholars, however, we are a special kind a scholar, and certain people will want the knowledge that me and my father possess, and thus we must be able to defend ourselves by any means necessary," the last few words came with emphasis, and this made the prince shift in his own stance, "And thus we are not only scholars of knowledge, we are scholars of weapons, scholars of disguises, scholars of mechanics, we are the power of knowledge, and if truly want to test the knowledge that is power, then do so now or hold your tongue."

The prince brightened at the idea. What better opportunity would bestow itself for a situation to take advantage of to bring down this heretic than now?

"Is that a challenge I hear, fine, I accept it. I want to test the knowledge you call power."

"Evelyn, can you please get up and face your opponent?"

An atmosphere of tenseness came over like a rock slide. Everyone looked at Kael like he was crazy. Calling the princess to face a prince, who's had years and years of training so that he may defend his country and himself? It was madness! The princess gazed up at him too, but only in question of how he knew she had her sabre on her. However, she did stand up, and walked down to face Prince Dario. Maybe this would put the spoiled Prince in his place, then again, she was afraid it would scare him off and the marriage would be called off and the war would come again. She looked at Kael before she walked all the way down and he nodded her forward.

"Surely you jest as well! There is no way the princess can fight me! She is in a dress and has no weapon. I will not fight her."

At this the princess pulled off the skirt of her dress, revealing leather leggings and boots beneath it. This led everyone into awe, as they would never have figured; even the prince was totally caught off guard. Evelyn's sabre was whipped from its sheath and brandished like a skilled fencer. Though caught off guard at the princess's preparedness, he still manages to laugh at the sight of everything. He even began to clap, an applaud by himself for himself, as he thought it was a practical joke.

"My, my, how wonderful of you all to try and scare me like this, but tis not going to work..."

His guards were still tense about the situation and his right hand was ready to fight if need be already have her arrow on her bow. However the room was silent. Dario was still trying to convince himself it was a joke, but the silence slowly sunk in. Slowly... Surely…

"You can't be serious..."

"I am," said Kael, "I would fight you, but the level of our skills is past each other..."

Dario glared at him for saying that. Surely there was no way he could be above me, he thought.

"So I'm having my 'apprentice' face you, she has great potential and I would like to see how she reacts to a real life battle."

Again the last few words emphasized, making the prince understand she was going to be serious in the fight, and he would have to as well. Princess Evelyn was ready, with her favored weapon, the sabre. The prince looked at it as if it was a dulled rust knife with the edge broken. He reached behind him, calling for his blade, and a guard came over and presented it to him like it was a holy scroll. Dario removed the Espada great sword and held it up with both hands.

The king looked as if he was going to respond, but instead, he sat back down and was ready to see just what his daughter can do. He was interested in what his once little girl was able to do with a small sword that he even considered a toad sticker. The blade was small to him, though he was sure she could use it well if she learned how to use it under Kael. Kael stood where he was with his hand to his chin, wondering how the battle would go through and if Evelyn would take advantage of the things that he showed her how to do. Evelyn was really going through her mind if she should back down or not. She wasn't even close to focusing on the battle. Prince Dario was really wondering what he would get out of this. He refused to wonder what would happen if he lost, but more of what he would get out of it all. Nobles and guards and knights and scribes and others who were in the room were all quiet as they were going to watch the battle commence. People would watch a duel that would never be heard about outside the castle nor ever read about in books of history or lore. This was a one chance, once in a lifetime event. A Prince versus a Princess. A Groom versus a Bride. Fiancé versus Fiancé. The kingdom's future versus a nation's treaty. Who would win, no one wanted to say, though they hoped the best for each candidate...

Dario charged in and took the first swing, the first clash in the battle, and the end marker of who would win..


	7. Chapter 7

Dario swung swift and hard, a falling strike with a massive sword that would surely cut even the densest wood into pieces. Evelyn quickly moved out of the way, making sure not to block such a heavy strike, as to make sure she did not break her favorite blade. As she strode to the right, the prince kept his gaze on her, but the sword fell flat to the ground. It hurt his hands as it struck cold stone. Dario thought to himself, by the gods, she is unnaturally fast! I would hope a princess graceful, but her nimbleness…

The prince attempted to throw away his thoughts as he swung the sword to her again, horizontally. She rolled under it to the left, spun up, and whips the prince in the back with her sword. It had cut his shirt, just enough to reveal chainmail underneath. Kael had anticipated this, but did not see any difference whether Dario wore any armor or not. Kael had taught Evelyn never to kill a person unless it's the only option left. As Evelyn struck Dario's back, she remembered that exact philosophy that Kael told her as she began to learn to fence.  
_"Never draw you sword in the intent to kill someone. Draw it in the intent to defend yourself. Only disarm and force surrender, or knock your opponent unconscious, but never kill someone, unless there is a dire need…"_

Dario felt the stinging thin blade strike the chainmail, which still managed to sting him a little, but it did not cut him. Dario made a wincing face for a small moment, but put back his serious fighting face, if that was one would call it. He held his sword loosely and swung it in light succession, allowing quick, small swings to Evelyn. But compared to her saber, it was no match in speed. Evelyn was able to whip her blade quickly enough to parry and glanced each blow, or she dodged it all together. His Espada great sword was too heavy for him to out swing Evelyn, so he swung hard once again, allowing his sword to fall fast like the first time. But as he lifted his sword, he received two quick whips to the chest before his sword went all the way down. Again, it hurt his hands as it struck the stone floor. The princess was too fast for him. Dario kept at his attack, but showed no sight in a victory for him. Evelyn managed to continue to play defensive, but countered whenever Dario left himself majorly open. Dario saw plenty of small openings that she could have easily gotten with the training he had, however, she did not have the experience he had.

The audience around them was standing as still trees, swaying only a little when they were uncomfortable or growing stiff. They dare not look away for if they missed one thing, they would never see it or hear of it again, for the rest of their days and afterlives.

Dario was swinging and thrusting his blade as fast and as skillfully as he could muster, but every opening that came he felt the sting of the sabre. Strike after strike; slash after slash; nothing could get through to touch Evelyn. But compared to him, she was breathing rather hard. He was still calm, but she was almost shaking. She was becoming exhausted. Dario saw his chance. He pulled his blade back and the swung it upward, like an uppercut punch. Unable to think of what to do, she instinctively blocked the blow instead of glancing or dodging. The force made her come off her feet and on the floor. In triumph, Dario raised his sword once more and brought it down to finish the job.

Kael reached for a guard's halberd and ripped it from his hands. Before the guard could react, with lightning speed Kael descended to the duel. With a loud clang of metal that echoed throughout the castle and in everyone's bones, Dario's sword did not rest on flesh, but on Kael's guard's halberd. The blade was towards the ground, and the shaft caught the sword and skid it down to the head of the halberd. It completely missed Evelyn. Dario glared at Kael for interfering, but Kael glared much grimly back at him.

"Do you even know what you were about to do…?" he asked, his voice completely monotone and grim with disgust. Something Dario couldn't comprehend.

"I was about to finish the duel!" Dario yelled in outrage.

"You were about to strike your future wife with your own blade, which would have surely killed her…" Kael replied even more grimly, in which the prince finally caught on, "what would have happened to your countries treaty and future then…?"

Dario's sword dropped to the floor as well did his mouth. The clang of metal to stone was the only sound coming from him.

"I… You… You set this up! You set me up didn't you!"

"What if I did? You still should have had control over yourself and your pride. Not only had you just lost the duel, but you had also made yourself look like a barbarian, willing to kill just to win…"

"How did I lose the duel!? I knocked her on her arse, didn't I!? If this was a real battle, she would have been dead, right? So how did I lose!?"

"You lost because she slashed you several times, and you couldn't touch her once. Not only that, but those slashes would have been quite fatal, had you not been wearing chain mail and had I not taught her not to fight to kill. Consider yourself lucky you didn't fight me; else you would have looked like the village idiot. Come, Princess, lets get you to your chambers for you to change and rest, you've earned it."

"Hey! I'm not through with you! I don't want you near-"

"Your business is with me, young man, and I will address Kael to do what I feel is right until my daughter is married to you!" the king said, interrupting the prince, once again. Astonished, Dario shut his mouth and his face flushed in anger and embarrassment. Kael took up Evelyn and escorted her to her chambers where her maids took her to rest. When all was set and done with Evelyn, Kael went down to his chambers to prepare himself for something. He didn't even know what, even as scholarly as he was, but by the gods he was preparing himself for something or another. Something told him something was coming, a turn of tides…

"We are almost to land, my liege."

"Good. Prepare the berserkers. We will charge to the kingdom overnight and rest in the forests by day," ordered the Scarab leader, Baqir. A feared giant of the Scarabs that was treated like a demi-god under his own godking, he sailed out in order to fulfill the prophecy his godking had spoken of. That in the far north, a young princess, born of a great goddess, is being held captive by savages of a great kingdom, and must be rescued and taken to him to be married. Baqir did not question his god, and set out to find this girl. According to the mapmakers of his land, Britannia was the farthest north of the great kingdoms, other than Siber. But Siber was not the nation that he had intended to enter, the winters there were unbearable, especially to Scarabs and their livelihood in the dead, searing heat of the deserts. Britannia was the ideal nation, and a very powerful one, known for its many wars and conquers. It was the target.

Baqir's men were of the best at sword and arrow among the other Scarabs. They were frightening when attacking by sword and were able to rain arrows straight forward like a sandstorm of serrated tips. Baqir was not afraid to accomplish his mission without any casualty of his own men, but the casualties of the enemy would be much greater.

Baqir shifted in the humid air, it was rather uncomfortable to him, and the cold wind coming from the west wasn't pleasant either. His men did the same, but he could care less about his men, he was the demi-god of his nation, and he did not take these things lightly. His servants did all they could to keep him in a light mood compared to his constant rage, but right now he was tense with a fuse getting close to the keg. One time, a servant accidentally did not remove a seed from the fruit that Baqir was to eat, and the servant was ripped apart limb from limb, alive, in front of the other servants to provide an example of he is to be taken seriously and that any facetiousness will be punishable by torturous death.

However, there was only one other thing that Baqir respected more than himself but less than his godking. Nothing was above his godking, but he feared only one other simply because he couldn't comprehend such things. He feared and respected practitioners of the dark arts, black magic, the Black Wytches of Hellot; said to infuse themselves with daemons so that they can use magics bent on destruction, darkness, and death. Baqir did not cross paths with the wytch upon his vessel in fear of what might come about from this fiend of a being. However, he would not take disrespect from anyone, wytch or not.

Baquir began to think loudly in his own head, "I won't be intimidated just because he can do something the godking can and I can't. I could crush him with my thumb and pinky! All he needs to do it make one wrong move and I'll…"

"You'll what, my Lord Baqir?" murmured a ghostly sonorous voice from behind Baqir, a chilling reminder of who exactly was on board his vessel.

"I don't think you wish to imagine what I would do to you if you're cross me. I don't care what you can do…"

"Ah, but you should! You see, I can bring about things you couldn't even have nightmares about, my dear big fellow. You think you make your victims suffer? Oh no, you don't even know the meaning of **suffering**," the wytch's arms were oozing with a dark green aura of gaseous material, which stank and glared with death; his eyes glowed in bright yellow-green; his veins growing black with dark power, "I could distort time itself and make you suffer torture beyond your fears that would make your bones itch to run right out of your skin and your soul cower in the depths of an abyss for what feels like lifetimes over lifetimes that would only last a mere little second in reality when you finally come to!!"

Dark clouds began to hover over the ship and the sea began to churn. A harsh ominous wind blew across the ship. The wytch calmed himself though, and all passed away as if it never happened. He was panting a little, but not enough to show weakness, just a display of how much power he has.

"However, I would not waste my time doing that kind of thing on you… The 'godking' of your nation needs you, and my lord requires that this plan goes out well. You are the only one to do this, and so I cannot and I will not… When are we to meet shore?"

"We are to reach shore by sunset… " Baqir swallowed, "Sorcerer Leanos…"

"Good, my legs are growing stiff staying on this ship for so long… I can't believe your godking seeks his 'goddess' so far north. But if it is to my lord's plan, then so be it. I'll be below deck; no one is to disturb me," and Daemos disappeared in a swirling cloud of dark green.

Some wytches, ironically and incidentally, hate being called wytches. Calling them so would send for a cause of immediate death, if it is front of one. However, it is just about right to call them so, because "sorcerer" is an understatement to their evil power. Especially under the Daemon Wytch King, Daemos of Ragnorak, who is said to be the original and most powerful of the wytches. Also claiming to be a direct descendant from Hell, he casts a shadow across the world through black magics and destruction, and in this case, through the Scarab's godking.

The sun set with a bloody red hue while the ship reached shore and beached itself. The Berserkers will have no problems pushing it back into the ocean, and so they all climbed out of the ship and lined up into ranks for their march. Baqir inspected each man quickly and then Leanos appeared through a green swirling cloud. Baqir looked at Leanos for a moment, but disregarded whatever his mind was thinking.

"MOVE OUT!"

And like wolves chasing prey, they scattered into the into the nearby forest I the direction of the kingdom through the guidance of the wytch Leanos, who took to their air on his summoned creature, which looked like a bat with black scales instead of fur. As the sun died behind the ocean, the blood moon rose to greet its friends of the night….

The next day came wonderfully as it the time of the frantic preparation of marriage between two loving beings. However, it became more of a extremely fanatically frantic over-preparation of an overly demanding groom and a subtly depressed bride. Dario had not only the Britannian servants helping him get prepared for his wedding but also his own servants that he had taken along with him. He had to be the one that got pampered ongoingly before the wedding, which was still five days away…

Evelyn kept her ongoing education with Kael in secret as Dario had found her out twice already. Kael would seemingly mystify Evelyn as he would constantly appear out of nowhere and then disappear instantly as Dario would somehow find her. After awhile, it caught Evelyn off guard, but she soon played along with him and manages to find an excuse that Dario would question but accept. Evelyn was rather glad that Kael's main lesson before Dario came to Britannia was combat, because Dario was almost always on her case about every little thing and did not give her an opportunity to practice. Every now and again, she would find a small moment to quickly fight an imaginary enemy and then hide her weapon from Dario when he also appeared from nowhere.

Kael, however, had the advantage of knowing the secret hallways of the castle that the nation's kings always resided. He knew the turns and hide-aways and passageways, and also was especially careful about when he went through these. Only a few of the kings knew of the secrets of the castle, and fewer knew most of the secrets. Kael had a map, of course, whilst the past kings only had spoken knowledge to go by. Of course, spoken knowledge only gives so much detail, and things can get hazy after some time.

Time.

Oddly enough, that was the single thought that Kael had in his head since Dario arrived. He felt he only had so much time left. So much time for what? Kael did not know the answer, and it bothered him only slightly. He set his mind on alchemy and chemistry to put him at ease. If that didn't work, he would meditate on the situation. Very rarely did that not work, and in the rare times it didn't, one would always find him pacing down the hallways reading some book in a language no one could recognize. And it just so happened that in the fourth night before the wedding, that Kael could not sleep, deviate or meditate away from the feeling that he was wondering down the halls of the castle reading on of his old, old black magic books that he had rediscovered in his trunk. Reading like a mad man, and walking with no sound and perfect stride, like a ghost, he was unseen in the darkness. It also happens that Dario had to go relieve himself in the middle of the night and went wandering in the dark to find the hole to piss in before he could go back to bed. Of course, he went to the farthest on from his room. And of course, Kael had to stride right down the same hallway. And of course, Dario had to walk out the very moment that Kael was walking down. They bump into each other, Dario yelping like a little girl and Kael quickly trying to find his place again in his book. Without even looking to whom he had bumped into, he apologized and tried to go on his way. But, yet again, of course, Dario had something to say about that…


End file.
